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Over the past 25 years, improvements to motor feedback technology have allowed servo system manufacturers to reduce costs and provide products that are simpler, more reliable, and more accurate. New network communications technologies are now enabling the next set of breakthrough innovations in feedback device technology.

Manufacturing Business Technology talks with companies about supply chain management issues manufacturers are dealing with and implementing new platform solutions to address those concerns in this 2-part Q&A round table discussion.

The PMI indicated expansion in manufacturing for the third consecutive month. This month’s reading reflects the highest PMI since June 2011, when the index registered 55.8 percent. The New Orders Index registered 57.8 percent, an increase of 4.5 percent over January’s reading of 53.3 percent, indicating growth in new orders for the second consecutive month.

The process of wire drawing has in effect changed very little over the years. It uses a combination of a die and/or a series of dies to draw wire to a selected gauge. Drawn wire is in many applications beyond what we normally would think like electrical wire and TV cables.

Manufacturing Business Technology is devoting this week to Motors & Drives. Check here daily for articles, blogs and videos being featured this week. Hear from industry experts on how they've integrated technology, the solutions currently being offered in the industry and gain insight on making the most of your operations.

While some organizations have implemented initiatives such as demand planning, which improves the visibility and accuracy of forecasts of future demand, before aligning it to production, few have been bold enough – or in fact able - to embrace a complete, strategic sales and operations planning (S&OP) approach.

March 4, 2013 9:21 am |
by Roman Wajda, Baldor's Industry Business Manager for Air and Unit Handling

At a time when energy efficiency is of utmost importance, recent developments in motor technology have changed the playing field within cooling tower HVAC systems. This new technology, a permanent magnet (PM), laminated frame direct drive motor allows for the removal of all the mechanical components such as gearboxes, drive shafts, disc couplings and existing motors.

Mobile solutions for warehouse inventory management that use barcode technology will cut costs by automating workflows and improving workforce efficiency and data capture accuracy. When it comes to choosing barcode readers for your inventory management system, today’s technology offers many choices from hand-held scanners and mobile computers to smartphones and tablets that can be adapted with peripherals and add-ons.

Like many other manufacturers that introduced some of the first Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems years ago, Marwood faced a dilemma. Its outdated DOS-based system needed another upgrade, and management had to decide whether it was worth the investment to throw more money at a system that was far less than state-of-the-art.

Over half of companies today have a strategy for their mobile ERP solutions. One in five companies has a strategy that it reviews regularly and includes return on investment (ROI) follow up in its work. This shows that organizations are preparing for a mobile workforce and the changes it brings. However, nearly a third of companies still have no plans at all.

Since the introduction of 3D printing (additive manufacturing) in the 1980s, the benefits of producing small quantities of complex parts fast is well understood among manufacturing circles. Despite this, the industry is just beginning to understand exactly how transformative the technology will be to the future of manufacturing.

There are many reasons why R&D is the “sweet spot” for cloud computing. Regardless of the industry, there is always a lot of ramping up and down, short-term testing and modeling for any new developments. If a company uses the cloud during this process, they won’t only reduce development time and costs, they will also be able to more efficiently and securely get a product to market.

Over half of companies today have a strategy for their mobile ERP solutions. One in five companies has a strategy that it reviews regularly and includes return on investment (ROI) follow up in its work. This shows that organizations are preparing for a mobile workforce and the changes it brings. However, nearly a third of companies still have no plans at all.

Incorporating automated equipment into food manufacturing processes can offer a wealth of benefits. Matt Wicks of Intelligrated spoke with Food Manufacturing about how food processors can best harness automated technologies in their facilities.

February 25, 2013 9:14 am |
by Gordon R. Zuckerman, author of A Matter of Importance

If the United States economy is to restore itself to earlier levels of full employment, prosperity, and financial soundness, the American manufacturing community must engage in a national effort to resurrect its global competitiveness. Today, we are threatened by a new brand of economic imperialism.

Like many companies in the manufacturing industry, Companion Systems was challenged with managing the growing number of product variants and offering the right product to meet each customer’s needs with accurate and competitive pricing. As the company soon found out, when it comes to big-picture business issues such as this, the devil is in the details.

For over 25 years Sage has been helping manufacturing businesses achieve their goals by offering cost-effective, end-to-end solutions that are simple to use and span the diverse needs of midsized businesses across virtually every industry.

Starting from the ground up, the team at Best Theratronics evaluated enterprise resource planning (ERP) options and the associated cost of servers and support staff. They were in search of a simplified implementation, quick deployment and turnkey management to support daily enterprise-wide operations in sales, production, logistics, services, purchasing, accounting and finance.

February 20, 2013 9:00 am |
by Douglas Johnson, vice president of marketing and business development, Acumatica

There has been a lot of debate about the merits of on-premise vs. SaaS ERP solutions and many of the arguments have been based on assumptions about how much different solutions would cost. But what do the numbers say about the cost differences between the two options?

The reason so many manufacturers struggle with complexity is that they’re using outdated tools to manage their revenue. By examining the reasons why manufacturing has grown more complex and why traditional revenue management tools are no longer effective, we can uncover solutions that will help manufacturing and technology companies keep more revenue in their pockets.